The insectfamilyMantophasmatidae is the sole family in its order. It is a group of African carnivorous insects discovered in 2002.[1] The most common vernacular name for this order is gladiators, but it is not well known under any name.

Members of the order are wingless even as adults, making them relatively difficult to identify. They resemble a mix between praying mantids and phasmids. Molecular evidence indicates that they are most closely related to a family known as the Grylloblattidae.[2]

The mantophasmids were originally described from old museum specimens that found in Namibia (Mantophasma zephyrum) and Tanzania (M. subsolanum), and from a 45-million-year-old specimen of Balticamber (Raptophasma kerneggeri).

The most recent classification recognizes numerous genera, including fossils.[3]